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Lurch Urges Talks as N. Korea Keeps Missile Card Close
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... pushed a message of dialogue with  North Korea at the end of an Asia tour on Monday, as Pyongyang kept the world guessing over an expected missile launch.The North has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates, and expectations had been high of a mid-range missile test to coincide with Monday's celebrations marking the birth of its late founding leader Kim Il-Sung. But unlike the centennial birth anniversary last year, there was no muscular military parade through the center of Pyongyang and officials in Seoul said the "missile watch" could drag on for days. North Korea and the soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula dominated Kerry's whirlwind tour of South Korea, China and Japan, with the top U.S. diplomat stressing a willingness to "reach out" to Pyongyang. Kerry, who met with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the final leg of his trip in Tokyo on Monday, said Washington was open to "authentic and credible" negotiations. "But the burden is on Pyongyang," he said, adding that the North had to take "meaningful steps" to show it would honor past commitments. Posted by: Fred 2013-04-16 |
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